TODAY'S PERSONAL FINANCE STORIES

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It pays to hold middle-class values. It certainly did in the three-year bear market. While many of America's upper-bracket households were chasing trendy stocks in the late 1990s, those families with incomes between $20,000 and $80,000 were sticking to a more traditional path to wealth -- real estate. Their houses, to be exact. That strategy allowed most of them to avoid the bust side of the recent boom-bust cycle, while continuing to add to their modest savings. In Tuesday's Personal Finance pages, read about a new study that tracks the investment behavior of the middle class, along with stories on the penny pinching that business travelers are doing. Plus, Chris Pummer's Shades of Green column takes up simple ways to reduce debt.

Yes, there are those who now fret about how high housing prices have gotten. But the evidence suggests middle-income Americans know what they are doing.

Steve Kerch, Personal Finance Editor

Middle class avoided boom and bust

The middle class did a better job than the wealthy of resisting the temptations of the stock market boom-and-bust of the late 1990s, new research suggests. A study by the Consumer Federation of America and Providian Financial shows that while many investors scoured the market for the latest Internet fads, middle-income families salted their money away in their homes. See full story

Job worries cut credit-card use, survey says

About a third of Americans are worried about losing their jobs, so they've reduced their use of credit cards, a study published Tuesday said. See Economic Report

Five simple ways to cut debt

As the economy recovers, Americans risk becoming overly confident and loading on more debt at still low interest rates. Being debt-free is a wise financial goal; minimizing it should be a relentless pursuit. See Shades of Green

Frugal business travelers a permanent trend, study says

Business travelers are getting frugal with the company's money. A survey found that more business travelers are choosing to save the company a nickel or two on airfare. See full story

So much for the phone calls

Your phone is still ringing too much, isn't it? Sometimes near breakfast, more likely around lunch, and certainly before, during or after dinner. Family, friends or the office? Maybe. But more likely it's the guy with The Voice -- oozing friendliness and familiarity. Except that, if he ever gets to it, he can't pronounce your last name. See Outside the Box

Funds get aggressive -- at damage control

"This industry has lost its moral compass," says Don Phillips, managing director of mutual-funds tracker Morningstar. "Sometimes it takes a near-death experience to change behavior." But was New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's recent attack on the fund industry an honest-to-goodness "near-death experience" that will change the greedy behavior of America's fund managers? See SuperStar Funds

Navigating China's stock markets

It takes a clever investor to wade through China's virtual alphabet soup of stock markets. There are the A, B and H shares as well as red and P chips. It sounds a little complicated but until recently, the only game in town for foreign investors who wanted a piece of China's booming economy was the H-share market in Hong Kong, where the cleanest if not the best and brightest Chinese companies are listed. See The China Play

Big newsletter gains in wake of Rambus decision

You've got to hand it to Fred Hager. He has staked his reputation, and the track record of his investment newsletter, on the performance of Rambus
RMBS, -3.16%
And on Monday he was rewarded for his faith. See Mark Hulbert

For job seekers, the third interview's the charm

Even with recent growth in the nation's payrolls, job seekers should be ready to deal with at least two rounds of interviews and very possibly three before they get offered a position, according to a recent survey. See Marshall Loeb's Daily Money Tip

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